BBQ Baron Louie Gohmert Beats Capitol Cooking Ban

Rep. Louie Gohmert has sizzled over a lot of issues on Capitol Hill — but the one that really burned him up was the ban that prevented him from cooking his acclaimed ribs on the balcony of his House office.

The Texas Republican happily announced this week that the misguided meat mandate which began in 2009 finally has been lifted.

"About seven years ago, the architect of the Capitol, who works for he House and Senate, had decided that we all work for him and started making demands," Gohmert told his colleagues on the House floor, The Washington Examiner reports.

"One of which was I could not cook ribs and share them with other members of Congress as I had been doing. My colleagues, they tell me, many of them [say] they're the best meat they've ever tasted. Some say the best ribs they've ever tasted.

"And I have enough of my late mother in me that I enjoy cooking and enjoy people enjoying what I cook."

Luckily, Gohmert has some fellow carnivores — House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Speaker Paul Ryan — who helped him settle the problem.

"The speaker was able to persuade the bureaucracies here on Capitol Hill that we can make this work and have it safe if we work with each other," said Gohmert, who added his cookouts are so well-liked, "It's probably the only time here on Capitol Hill when I actually leave a good taste in people's mouths instead of a bitter taste."

Two years ago, Gohmert was involved in another food-related spat when, during a heated hearing, he accused Attorney General Eric Holder of casting "aspersions on my asparagus," KTRE reported.

Gohmert later explained: "The expression 'casting aspersions on my asparagus' is something I found to be helpful in defusing heated exchanges during my days as a litigator, sometimes even bringing a smile from a frown at the thought of something so unexpected as asparagus during such an exchange.”

Rep. Louie Gohmert has sizzled over a lot of issues on Capitol Hill — but the one that really burned him up was the ban that prevented him from cooking his acclaimed ribs on the balcony of his House office.